Scholarship of the Confucius Institute 2026

International students can apply for the fully funded Confucius Institute Scholarship 2026–2027. More than 150 Chinese universities are offering this grant to students who want to study Chinese language and culture. Tuition and housing costs, health insurance, and a monthly personal expense allowance are all covered by the CIS scholarship.

These scholarships are highly sought after by students worldwide. The Confucius Institute is a government organization dedicated to advancing global awareness of Chinese language and culture.
Scholarships from the Confucius Institute are available for certain doctoral programs, research stays, international conference participation, and Chinese language and culture classes.

Summary of Scholarship of the Confucius Institute:

• Level of Study: Master, Bachelor
• Institution(s): Confucius Institute
• Study in: China
• Deadline: Varies
• Funded: fully funded

Also Apply: Scholarship for Graduate Pathways at Illinois Institute of Technology 2025

Benefits of Scholarship of the Confucius Institute:

The Confucius Institute scholarship covers tuition and living expenses (in a shared room or in a university house), basic health insurance, and a monthly personal expense allowance, which is split as follows:

• 2,500 Yuan (about 350 USD) per month for Chinese language and culture classes or BTCSOL students.
• For MTCSOL students, the monthly payment is 3,000 Yuan, which is roughly 420 USD.
• The notion of scholarship recipients residing off campus (rejecting housing in the university resident hall) has recently been discussed. In these situations, the Confucius Institute provides 700 Yuan a month to cover rental costs (on top of the monthly stipend).

For scholarships that last longer than a year, the Confucius Institute evaluates the recipients’ qualifications every year and requires exceptional performance in order to renew the entire amount of funds for the subsequent year. The Confucius Institute either does not renew the scholarship or, in certain situations, provides partial funding (which covers all expenses save the monthly allowance for personal expenses) if the student’s performance are below average. The cost of your international airfare to and from China will also be covered by the Confucius Institute, depending on your place of origin.

Confucius Institute Scholarship Categories and Duration scholarships to study Chinese culture and language.

Three categories exist:

• Academic year scholarships are awarded for a total of 11 months, beginning in September and ending in July or March and ending in January of the following year.
• Academic semester scholarships: The scholarship actually lasts for five months. It may be the winter semester, which runs from September to January, or the summer semester, which runs from March to July.
• Scholarships for four weeks of study: In China, one-month courses are offered during the summer (July–August) or winter (December–January) holidays.

scholarships for aspiring Chinese teachers. Three modes exist:

• Master’s in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (MTCSOL) scholarship: It lasts for two school years.
• Scholarship for two years of MTCSOL plus one academic year of Chinese language and culture: There are three academic courses in all.
• Studying for a Bachelor of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (BTCSOL) scholarship: It lasts for four academic years.

Typically, the three CIS scholarships for Chinese language teacher training begin in March or September. These scholarships need an online application. The system will provide you the option to select two universities from the 150 that offer this scholarship nationwide, in order of priority, during the procedure. Find the course of your choosing by looking at the institutions that offer the Confucius Institute Scholarship (register first to access all the information, which is in Chinese and English). Not all colleges provide all the modalities stated above.

Qualifications for the 2026 Confucius Institute Scholarship

The Confucius Institute Scholarship eligibility requirements and supporting documentation are as follows:

1. Not having a Chinese nationality and enjoying good health. If you are going to study for a period longer than six months, you need to prove that you are in good physical and mental condition to process your residence permit in China. For this, you will have to deliver, once at your destination university (it is not a required document during the application period), a duly completed copy of the official Chinese medical form or Foreigner Physical Examination Form.
2. Applicants must be between the ages of 16 and 35 (it is extended up to 45 years for people who demonstrate that they are working as Chinese teachers at the time of applying for the scholarship). Applicants for undergraduate scholarships cannot exceed 20 years of age.
3. It is essential to have a degree in Chinese language level (written and oral HSK and, in some cases, BCT and oral BCT are also accepted). This requirement is according to the type of scholarship. For example, for the scholarship to study an academic course in Chinese language and culture, you need to have a minimum of 180 points in the written HSK3 and a minimum of 60 points in the oral HSK. To check the complete language requirements, click here.
4. Minimum qualification: Regarding the MTCSOL scholarship, it is necessary to deliver the diploma and the academic record of undergraduate studies. In the case of the BTCSOL scholarship or the Chinese language courses, you must prove that you have completed your high school studies. If you do not have this documentation in English or Chinese, you will have to submit a sworn translation to either of the two languages.
5. A letter of recommendation in the case of scholarship applicants who want to study a Chinese course or to study BTCSOL, and two in the case of MTCSOL scholarship applicants. The letters must be signed by the in charge person of the Confucius Institute through which you apply for the scholarship.
6. In the case of the MTCSOL scholarship, those applicants who demonstrate that they have a job as Chinese Language professors after completing the master’s degree studies in China will be preferred.
7. In the case of one-semester or four-week scholarships, you do not have studied in China before.

How Can I Apply for the 2026 Scholarship at the Confucius Institute?

Please follow these steps to apply for the Confucius Institute Scholarship:

1. Delivery of applications: If you are a student of the Confucius Institute (ideal to apply for this scholarship), contact the in charge person of the scholarships. The application must be made online on the official page of the Confucius Institute scholarships (you need to have all the documents scanned, including your passport and a passport-size photo).
   • • Then you must submit all the required paper documents (preferably certified copies, since they will not be returned). The in charge person of the scholarships of your Confucius Institute will be responsible for sending them by post to the headquarters of Hanban (central offices of the Confucius Institute in China). If you are not a student of the Confucius Institute, you can apply online and submit the documents to the nearest Confucius Institute, to a Chinese embassy or consulate in your country, or to some exam centres or educational institutions in your country that are linked with Hanban.
   Graduate scholarships
2. Application deadline: Until the beginning of May (usually day 1) if you want to apply for a scholarship to start in September, and until the beginning of November if you want to start in March.
3. Sending documents to process the visa: The necessary documents to process the visa are sent by postal mail within 15 days after the publication of the result. At this point of the procedure I recommend patience, since you may have to wait more than a month to receive the letter.
4. Result date: The final result of the scholarship students can be found on the official page of the Confucius Institute scholarships at the beginning of July (if you are going to start in September) or at the beginning of January (if you start in March).

APPLY NOW